Bill Slomchinski and his son Brett, walk through their corn field in Poteet on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Bill Slomchinski and his son Brett, walk through their corn field in Poteet on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express News

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Bill Slomchinski walks through his corn field in Poteet on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Bill Slomchinski walks through his corn field in Poteet on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express News

Image 3 of 5

A corn field planted by Bill Slomchinski and his son, Brett, will produce corn to be used as livestock feed. Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

A corn field planted by Bill Slomchinski and his son, Brett, will produce corn to be used as livestock feed. Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express News

Image 4 of 5

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects corn production to fall by 13 percent this year to the lowest level since 2006. Anticipated changes in the bushels of corn produced in the states with the top production are:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects corn production to fall by 13 percent this year to the lowest level since 2006. Anticipated changes in the bushels of corn produced in the states with the top

A punishing drought in the Midwest has opened a door of opportunity for Texas farmers to take up the slack in corn production.

Some South Texas farmers are taking advantage by planting a fall crop of corn, an unusual practice in Texas because of water concerns, pest issues and other crop-management problems.

With the drought expected to shrink corn production to its lowest level in six years this year, prices are still hovering around $8 a bushel and could go higher. That and the prospects of a wetter fall have convinced farmers to risk planting a late crop this year and expand corn plantings in 2013.

“We've sold lots of corn for $3 to $3.50 a bushel. It's hard to ignore the chance to get over double what they've paid before,” said Medina County farmer Mark Carroll, who planted about 320 acres of corn earlier this summer with hopes of making a fall crop. “It's just a market-driven situation.”

Matt Huie, a Beeville-area rancher and farmer southeast of San Antonio, said he obtained a contract with a starch company that will pay a premium price for the corn he hopes to harvest in fall or early winter.

Even with irrigation, Huie's crop will need rain in the coming months to produce well. He said his spring corn crop was not successful, and his cotton and grain sorghum was not much better. So Huie said he is counting on the fall corn “to pay a few bills.”

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Across Texas, farmers are searching for ways to make money after a record-breaking drought last year ravaged production. Rains have returned this year on a scattered basis, leaving some areas with solid crop yields and others still suffering.

The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 90 percent of the state faces drought conditions, and 44 percent is experiencing severe drought or worse.

Travis Miller, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist, said “farmers are entrepreneurs” and will be drawn to crops that produce higher prices, like corn.

Miller said growers in the Rio Grande Valley have grown a late-season corn crop for years, and he's hearing more interest about the fall plantings this year.

Those plantings need to be irrigated. Few farms along the Coastal Bend have irrigation, which is why fall corn crops won't pop up much in that area, said Jeff Nunley, executive director of the South Texas Cotton & Grain Association.

Corn is typically a spring crop in Texas and is harvested in the summer. Last year, more than 2 million acres of corn were planted in Texas and about 1.5 million acres were harvested as the drought took its toll.

What makes it difficult to grow corn into the fall, aside from its irrigation needs, are worms and other pests that arise in the fall and early frosts that can keep the crop from maturing properly. Corn also needs a period to dry out properly, which can be cut short by fall rains, officials said.

Bill Slomchinski, a Poteet-area farmer, said he quit planting corn in the spring because its price fell so far in years past and its yields were not strong.

But he's trying a small fall planting this year because of the high corn prices. He believes it has a good chance of success. New, genetically modified varieties of corn are a little more drought-tolerant and pest-resistant and require a shorter growing season, which could help it avoid the first frost, Slomchinski said.

“It looks good at this point,” he said about a field of corn standing several feet tall.

The state's corn production is forecast to grow by about 100 million bushels this year after being reduced to 136.7 million bushels last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.